A heart valve normally allows blood flow in only one direction through the heart. The four valves commonly represented in a mammalian heart determine the pathway of blood flow through the heart. A heart valve opens or closes incumbent upon differential blood pressure on each side.
The four valves in the heart are:
- The two atrioventricular (AV) valves, which are between the atria and the ventricles, are the mitral valve and the tricuspid valve.
- The two semilunar (SL) valves, which are in the arteries leaving the heart, are the aortic valve and the pulmonary valve.
A form of heart disease occurs when a valve malfunctions and allows some blood to flow in the wrong direction. This is called regurgitation.
Read more about Heart Valve: Atrioventricular or Cuspid Valves, Semilunar Valves, Heart Valve Dynamics
Famous quotes containing the word heart:
“The heart of man ever finds a constant succession of passions, so that the destroying and pulling down of one proves generally to be nothing else but the production and the setting up of another.”
—François, Duc De La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680)